User blog:Captaingoldvane2/2015 - Top 10 Films
Aight, so I ain't doing the whole thing where I review every movie I saw. I've already seen over twenty five films and there are still several I want to watch, so that just ain't happenin'. Nevertheless, I will stick to my usual top 10 for this year with what I have seen. If I do get around to "officially" reviewing the films, their scores might not match up with the order I put them in here. This list is based purely on my personal experience and enjoyment whilst watching the listed movies. Critic mode off. Before we get started, let me name some honorable mentions/close contenders: *Black Mass *Avengers: Age of Ultron *Spectre *Terminator: Genesis *Mr. Holmes Also, here are some films that I've yet to see that I still want to watch. In other words, I think they might make it onto the list once I see them, but I haven't gotten a chance to view 'em yet: *Spotlight *Ex Machina (^This list is probably going to sound like an Oscar list. My theater avoids these kinds of movies and sticks to blockbusters, it would seem.) 11: Bridge of Spies (Runner Up) Bridge of Spies is a pure Spielberg movie, it's Tom Hanks who nails it even though he plays a guy who is... well, a "normal" guy. I can't talk enough about him. He has achieved a rank of "supah Konk." This movie would have been pretty deadbeat without him. There's a good plot and the storytelling is done very well, but it almost feels like an "old person movie" during some scenes. True enough, the audience consisted of mostly seniors, and that's not a bad thing. For me personally, though, it's hard to sit through an "old person" movie sometimes. This one, however, was saved by its star and authentic feel. Seriously, it captured the period brilliantly and had some good moments visually for a very slow film. The music felt kind of flat and the movie seemed like it needed John Williams, but oh well. At least he came back for Star Wars. Don't let the trailers fool you - this is NOT an action or thriller. The most intense scenes are just scenes of dialogue and conversing. Just about all the action is shown in the trailer, as per the usual these days. However, with a title like "bridge a spies," I wanted a more intense, fast-paced espionage movie with sneaking around and really intelligent conflict going on with the dialogue. Instead, the movie is pretty straightforward and feels more like a simple "period drama" of some sorts. Not usually my type, but it's done really well and Tom Hanks made it entertaining because all he has to do is stare at something and we are satisfied as an audience. Not a masterpiece, but a great winter movie that you can leave feeling good and satisfied with a solid ending. 10: The Man from Uncle Man from Uncle wasn't a masterpiece either, but I personally had a blast watching it. I'm a huge fan of the Sherlock movies, so I had a feeling I'd enjoy Guy Ritchie's new film. The actors and actresses had great chemistry and the movie felt very stylish. I've never seen the show it was based on, but I definitely enjoyed the adaption. I also have to point out the music, because it's insane. Daniel Pemberton comes out of nowhere and produces two really innovative and unique soundtracks in one year... this one and Steve Jobs. The action is intelligent, the cast is perfect, and the dialogue is quirky and unique. Konk. I originally had this swapped with number seven, but I had a realization mid-review because I can't really think of much to say about Uncle. It's good! It's fun, it's fast-paced, it's smart! Even so, I don't think it's better than 8 or 7. This will hopefully be the shortest review because I simply can't think of much to say about this one. 9. The Revenant As I write this, it's been a few weeks since I saw the Revenant. This is a film I wanted to give some time before I wrote about it because it's such a unique movie. Originally, I didn't know if I wanted to put this at 9 or 10, but I wanted to put it on the list. After letting it sink in a little, I think 9 is just fine. This film was obviously praised for its cinematography, but I can't neglect mentioning that even if it's obvious. The Revenant is one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen, and most definitely the best looking film of the year. In a year of visually outstanding movies, this one is the king of them all. The performances in this movie, however lacking in dialogue they may have been, were clearly top-notch and intelligently professional. Leo's done it again, and this time he's reeeeeally trying to get himself that gold statue of a naked dude. He has problems; seriously, though, Dicaprio proved again how much he can put into his performances. He is what drives the movie and makes it seem REAL. I was brought into the movie by the realism of his acting and the visuals. I can't go without mentioning the others, though. Tom Hardy plays his role perfectly, even though he doesn't have that much screentime. His grunts and groans actually had me laughing, which provided a brief, minor comic relief in a very serious drama. The other actors and actresses all seemed to fit into their roles perfectly. I would've preferred a bit more character development and a bit less silent survival scenes, but it is what it is. If they movie is so perfect, why is it number 9, you might ask? Well, there were a handful of things that bothered me and soured the experience for this one. Don't get me wrong, it's a really good movie... it just wasn't as personally enjoyable to meas the others on this list. First off, you have the score. I found the music to be extremely lackluster and all it really had going for it was that it sounded like the mellow parts of Mad Max's soundtrack. Secondly, the story was pretty predictable and there weren't really any shocks or twists. Thirdly, the ending was a bit dull and I thought it could've been finished off in a much more theatrical, climactic fashion. Despite the kanks, The Revenant is a beautiful film with great acting, great visual storytelling, and a fantastic sense of realism and truth. 8: The Hateful Eight I actually didn't realize the connection between the title and the ranking until after I made my list. This is legitimately my eighth favorite. In fact, I'm listening to the soundtrack right now as I write this. It's hard to put words to this film, as is the usual with Tarantino. I've only just become a fan of "Tarantino style" and I haven't seen all of his films, but I am a huge fan of Django and parts of Pulp Fiction. However, I'm not crazy about the excess vulgarity and gore when it is obviously forced in for fan service. People want to see ketchup explode out of a guy, I know, but that's simply not why I go to the theater. I'm okay with violence in films and I'm fine with vulgarity, but when it feels forced, it's not too enjoyable for me. Now that I've established my fanship of Tarantino whilst also pointing out the fact that I dislike some aspects of his films, let me continue. First off, Samuel L. Jackson is back. He looked like he was asleep in Marvel, but now that he's in the front of a Tarantino film, he's shining bright. Mad, uncensored, and given pretty much full freedom, the dude just eats up this role and he OWNS it. He is clearly the star of the film and he ain't letting you forget it. Secondly, every actor or actress in this film is cast perfectly and fits right in with the others. The characters line up brilliantly with their respective performers and the result is something remarkably enjoyable to witness on screen. I knew Tarantino could write great dialogue, but this one thrives on the dialogue and the characters. There didn't need a single shot fired in this film for it to be entertaining. The characters and conversations make the movie great, not the shooting and cussing. Despite the excessive vulgarity, the dialogue feels so authentic and never once does it falter from its quirky, out-there style. The film also captures the period well and feels like an entirely different world and time than ours today. The film literally makes you feel cold and claustrophobic. It's suspenseful, completely insane, completely vulgar, and all-out Tarantino. I don't enjoy the excess gore, but the vulgarity I can handle because it's part of the comedy to me. Even with the over-the-top parts of this movie, I find myself entertained in the same way I am when I watch Donald Trump. Trump is not as good as this movie, though. No way. I do want to say that there were a couple of scenes in this film that spawned a o_O look on my face. Not many movies can do that. In a way, it made The Cheesemonger's Wrath feel innocent in comparison. Absurdity, but intelligent, and hilariously entertaining absurdity. 7: In the Heart of the Sea Despite the "meh" reviews, I really enjoyed this film. I suppose I'm a sucker for "ship movies," but I felt like this was the most authentic movie set on the ocean in a long while. It felt real, intense, and kind of scary when it makes you think about the scale of even a small whale compared to a ship. Sure, the Kraken is intimidating, but it isn't real. Knowing that these giant whales existed makes the movie that much more grasping. When they show the "monster whale" and the percussion starts kicking it, I'm thinking "This is the real sea monster!" and the bass is pounding and a moment of badassery occurs in the theater. The visuals on this movie were fantastic. Not only did the film display beautiful scenery during the calm moments, but it also offered grand and intimidating moments during the traumatic scenes. Top notch stuff. The time period was also captured quite effectively, but not much of the towns were shown, with the focus being on the ships and the sea travel. That's how it should be, though, since we've needed a good ship movie for so long! Plus, even though it's mostly on a ship, it still looks very real. My primary gripe with this movie had to do with pacing. The movie drags near the end and doesn't show enough of the whale during the final act, IMO. Could've been improved in a few areas like that, but it otherwise accomplished everything it was trying to do. The performances were good here too. Thor is intense and cast perfectly, as usual. Ron Howard seems to have found a formula with 'em. The young actors also fit well and didn't seem unbelievable. A solid and enjoyable sea thriller, In the Heart of the Sea was right up my ally with my passion for the time period and nautical adventures. 6: Creed Despite having not seen a Rocky movie in years and having only seen the first one, I really enjoyed watching Creed revive the franchise. Of all the remakes and sequels this year, I didn't expect to be putting this one in my top ten. For one thing, the subject matter isn't something I'm crazy about and the nostalgia isn't there for me because I didn't ever get into the Rocky franchise as much as I should have. Nevertheless, this film is done brilliantly and I had a great time watching it. It'd have a very high score if I were doing this from a technical standing point. First off, Creed brings together two generations better than even Star Wars 7. You have the young black guy who represents the youth and the old, beloved geezer who represents the elders. When the first Rocky came out, there wouldn't have been an ounce of consideration for a black guy leading a movie like this. Now, though, the evolution of our society is shown to us in a sequel to one of the most well-known movies ever. I may be crazy, but I think Stallone was better here than he was in the first one. He's a great mentor figure and you just want the guy to do well so badly. Even though I'm the younger generation, I couldn't get enough of "old Rocky" in this movie. Konk. There's good comedy in this movie, but the drama is done very well and the parallel struggle between the two main characters is very nice to watch. Seeing this with my parents made it even better, because they had the nostalgia of the franchise and we were in an empty theater so we could talk and everything. Great acting, a good plot, and a little bit of nostalgia put this one up here on the list. 5: Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation I didn't have high hopes for this sequel when I heard that they had to rush production, but damn, these movies just keep getting better as they evolve. I don't understand why someone would settle for an abomination like Jurassic World when there's a good summer blockbuster sequel like this out there. I've always been a fan of the MI movies, but this one is my favorite now and just saying that feels weird. The plot was meh, but the acting and the pacing made you forget the dullness of the storyline. The female lead was surprisingly badass and Tom Cruise was just as fun as he usually is. The visuals were up there and the movie did everything it tried to do. This film was a good blend of comedy, drama, and action. I felt like the team behind the movie edited it very well and made it as good as it could be with the time that they had. I liked the style and grandness of the film, too. For once, a MI movie seems to be very comfortable with itself. Alec Baldwin even appeared, and, for the first time in forever, he was actually funny! There are several good recurring jokes and different quirks with this film that I can't even remember them all. Definitely a prime example of a good action blockbuster. 4: Steve Jobs One of the best surprises of the year, Steve Jobs was a brilliant telling of the story behind a genius... blah blah blah, I'm not going to go into words on the actual dude; there's a book for that. This movie clearly doesn't try to be too true to the history of the man. The last movie that did was kanky. This one takes the truth and makes it more entertaining so we can all enjoy a great film. The way I see it, true stories begin the best and fiction ends the strongest. First off, Fassbender kills it as Jobs. He seems perfect... that little grin he has looks just like the real guy did. A montage of great performances complete an A+ acting score. I'm growing more vague as I continue to write these reviews, but let me take a step back... Secondly, Steve Jobs takes you back to a simpler time without it going back TOO far in history. We're all a little scared of technology, but this movie makes you feel a bit safer in seeing the simple origins of the technology we use in our households today. There are some great discussions and comparisons in this film. There's a scene between Fassbender and Steve Daniels that should be an example of what innovative filmmaking is today. It has sharp visuals, flawless acting, and a dark, realistic setting. Not only is it realistic, but it's REAL! Realizing that a portion of the events in the film actually took place makes it an even more enjoyable show to watch. Also, there's a musical piece called "Revenge" from Daniel Pemberton that instantly caught my attention. It sounds old-fashioned, but reminds of me of Zimmer's intelligent, "cool" sound. After listening to it several times, it's become one of my favorite tracks from 2015. Other than that, the soundtrack blends a classical-styled instrumental score and electronic, synth undertones brilliantly like Mr. Robot. A perfect sound for a technological genius who is compared to a conductor of an orchestra. 3: The Martian Another pleasant surprise of this year was The Martian. What looked like an over-dramatic "wannabe Interstellar" ended up almost being a comedy! This was a light, fun example of a great movie. Instead of giving weird speeches about survival, Matt Damon actually ends up being the comedy of this film. He cracks jokes and makes fun of this terrible situation that he's in. This is a realistic space movie that has comedy! We have desperately needed this. Speaking of being realistic, the Martian feels more like science fact that science fiction. Yes, it gets pretty over-the-top, but it's more believable than Interstellar. I suppose the Martian is the shiny bowl of sweet potatoes while Insterstellar is the main, heavy course of meats during Thanksgiving. They compliment each other and could be shown together with no problem. Enough about Interstellar, though. Let's take a look at what this movie did for itself. First off, Damon blatantly showed off his diversity and surprised us all with his cheeky, comical performance. Also, the visual effects in this movie were great... I'm saying that too much, but just about every movie on this list was visually perfect! It's getting too easy for studios to make a film look fantastic. Yeah, though, it felt like the dude was really on Mars and the adventure that ensued thereafter was immensely entertaining and super fun to experience. This is a "good time" film with a good core and an intelligent plot. 2: Mad Max: Fury Road WITNESS ME! Best action movie of the year. Could sum it up with that, but nah. Mad Max was bombastic. It was thrilling, fast, intense, suspenseful, insane, and, well... epic! This is the movie equivalent of an adrenaline rush. Honestly, I had a hard time deciding between this and TFA for my number one movie. My dad chose Mad Max, but I'll get to why I chose SW later. The point is that I really loved this movie and own it on Blu-ray, if that's any indicator of it being konkylicious. The plot was surprisingly meaningful in this film. Not thick, but meaningful. A religious dictator takes over after an apocalypse and there's really no hope in the wasteland shown. For once, a film set in the future leaves its characters as ignorant of their surroundings as someone lost in a forest ten centuries ago. Everyone seems to agree that this one was really good, but I'll try to put it in my own words. This film was original, unique, and insane. To be original and unique these days you pretty much have to be insane. Despite the main character having only about ten lines in the film, I feel his struggle to get the hell out of his situation. Visual storytelling is given to us in this film. For the first time in a while, I actually had to turn my brain on during an action movie. The plot wasn't fed to me on a plastic spoon; I had to participate in figuring things out for myself whilst keeping up with the never-ending car chase and action-packed sequences. The argument that "they don't explain anything" is bullshit because the people saying that are just too fat on being babied by lazy action movies that they don't want to have to think and cheer at the same time. A movie should be an experience, not a meal. Something to be enjoyed, not consumed. Nobody complains that we don't have all of the answers after Star Wars, so don't complain that you don't have all the answers after Mad Max! I like to speculate and fit things together after I see a movie, rather than be told everything and be simply left to orgasm over the onslaught of material. Practical effects shine in this movie like no other. I loved the stunts and other-wordly fight scenes that were developed... by a grandpa! Seriously, George Miller is a badass and he definitely displayed that with this film. Yes, it's crazy. Yes, the whole movie is a car chase. Those ridiculous facts make the movie what it is. Oh, and then there's the fact that the music is completely badass. Holkenborg was a perfect choice and he definitely evolved his career with this score. 1: Star Wars: The Force Awakens I hate to have the most predictable favorite film, but I grew up with Star Wars. I'll try not to talk too much about it because I could write an entire blog about this movie. Okay, so, first off, if this were a technical blog with critic mode turned on, Mad Max would be number one and Star Wars would be 2 or 3. However, this is about how much I enjoyed the movie... so how can I put Star Wars anywhere below number one? (Spoilers below if you sausages haven't seen it yet for some terrible reason) First off, I love how the Force Awakens caters to basically all audiences. Obviously, every big Star Wars fan will see the movie automatically. However, the filmmakers made sure to include the nostalgia to get the old fans back. These are people who probably didn't enjoy the prequels and might not want to go through the hassle of getting to the theaters at age 70 and watching something that can potentially ruin their nostalgia even more. These geezers are covered... there's enough of the old in here to make them feel like they're watching a continuation of the old movies. My dad, who saw the first Star Wars in theaters, said it felt just the same watching TFA. That's valuable input. Also, younger moviegoers who might not relate to the old heroes have a new batch of BRILLIANT characters to cheer for. There's a modern, youthful tone to the movie even though it captures the feel of the old ones perfectly. Speaking of brilliant new characters, I'd say that the three new stars in TFA are written in and cast so well that they're almost as good as the original trio. I say "almost" because they didn't get as much screen time as the originals did, but I feel like they'll only get better after this, which brings me to my next point: TFA has gotten Star Wars back on its feet and moving in the right direction. Almost everyone loves the originals, but the prequels split audiences in half. TFA seems to return to the perfection of the originals in utilizing intelligence and characters rather than... whatever the prequel tried to utilize. People can join together and eagerly await the next Star Wars movie now. The biggest complaint is that TFA used too much material from ANH and ESB. Yes, the film takes a LOT from the originals: A cute droid contains important information and gets stranded on a desert planet where it meets our main lead who has the Force and goes on to face our main villain later. The old mentor who fought in a previous trilogy (yes, the prequels came later, but you get my point with the canon) dies tragically to the main villain with a lightsaber to the chest. Our main villain talks to our bigger villain for later films via a giant hologram and says he'll bring the main hero to the big bad. Whoops, looks like our vilain might even be related to our hero! Then, the heroes have to blow up the machine that's literally referred to as "another Death Star" at the end of the movie! Yes, it takes a ton of material from the originals. But here's why I overlooked that: People complained that the prequels weren't similar enough to the originals, so how can you complain that the new one is too similar? From a writer's point of view, it makes a lot of sense to return to the basics and pound the audience with nostalgia so that they can be comfortable in allowing this franchise to evolve. The biggest justification for the recycling of material is the remembering that there will be two more movies after this one. Not only does that mean that the movies will change and rely less on recycled material and more on original content, but it also means that there won't be much old content to rip off in the next movie because they've already covered so much of it! If this movie was too different from the original trilogy, people would whine and become unhappy. The only way to merge audiences and allow the geezers to comfortably approve of the evolution of Star Wars is to go gentle into that good night and take baby-steps with plenty of nostalgia to coat the new material in. It makes sense and it doesn't bother me. No, I'm not blind to the flaws of the film. Phasma and Poe didn't get enough screen time. Snoke felt cheesy. Kylo Ren doesn't look at all like Han Solo. The movie could have been a bit more original and avoided the new death star thing. (face it, without that starkiller base, the complaints would probably go away.) Still, the good outweighs the bad. The return of practical effects, the character-driven story, the perfectly chosen cast, the super excessive attention to detail and the excess work put into the movie complete a list of some basic pros in the film. The film was very colorful and I thought that was innovative. The lightsabers have more of an impact, the holograms are colored, the duels are realistic and dirty. These things evolve Star Wars. An evolution coated in traditions and nostalgia will be accepted, but an abrupt change forced down someone's throat will be rejected and tossed out of the airlock. Category:Blog posts